Sanitary napkin



Patented Apr. 15, 1947 es PATENT( AOFFICE SANITARY NAPKIN Y, 4FrederickSchreiber, Highland'ParmN. J., as-

Y Isignorto The Personal Products Corporation, a

corporation Yof-Nelv Jersey Y I Application -september 4,1943, ,serialNo. 501,211

(Cl. 1284-284) Y 5 Claims.

. l I'his invention relates to a dressing for medicinal purposesparticularly for catamenial use and in which there is incorporated adeodorant.

In the co-pending application of Frederick W. Schreiber, Serial No.44),022, illedApril 22, 1942, there is described a dressing adaptedparticularly for catamenial use, i. e., a sanitary napkin in which thereis incorporated a deodorant located between plies of sheet material in aposition such that the fluid passes through the plies where it issubjected to the action of the deodorant before passing into the mainabsorbent portion or napkin pad. y

According to the present improvements, there is provided a sanitarynapkin likewise incorporating a deodorant similarly located, combinedhoweverin a pad construction of a character which prevents spreadingofthe fluid exteriorly of thev napkin beyond the zone of the deodorant,with the result that all the fluid is subjected to the deodorantsaction.

The improved sanitary napkin has an absorbent pad of high fluid capacityand which is enveloped in a fluid repellent medium except for acentrally located longitudinally extending zone termi-V nating inwardlyfrom the lateral edges of the top surface of the pad, i. e., the surfaceadapted to be Yworn facing the body of the user in normal service. Thefluid has ready' access through the zone to the pad wherein the fluid israpidly absorbed. The fluid repellent medium prevents egress of theabsorbed fluid through the lateral edges of the pad as well as throughthe bottom thereof. In other words, regardless of the amount of fluidabsorbed by the pad its escape is prevented and danger of soiling thegarments of the wearer avoided.

The moisture or fluid repellent medium preferably comprises a pluralityof strips of soft and tenuous but highly repellent tissue which arethreaded longitudinally into the napkin during its manufacture and whichare so disposed that the zone referred to is defined by the opposededges of the strips. In order that the fluid repellent strips besuitably retained in place, the

pad with said strips is wrapped in a vest or sheet l of cellulosicmaterial which adequately serves the purpose.

It is apparent, however, that if this wrapper is of ordinary highlyabsorbent tissue, the fluid, by capillary action, will spread in alldirections, indeed even beyond the edges of the zone previously referredto and which is dened by the edges of vthe fluid repellent strips.Lateral spreading might be present to such an extent as 2 Y to reach theedges of the napkin itself thus circumventing, to a partial extent atleast, the function sought to be performed by the highly repellentmedium. Furthermore, to the extent that there existed lateral spreadingof the fluid beyond the moisture zone, the effect of the deodorant uponsuch fluid would be lost. This difficulty is avoided .by processing theouter celluflosic wrapper, i. e., the one overlying the repellent strps,in such a Wayas substantially to retard the lateral dispersion of thefluid, thereby confining it to the zone defined by the edges of thehighly repellent strips and accelerating its entrance in to the padwhere it is rapidly absorbed. t

According tothe present invention, the deodorant material is located inthe moisture zone and underlying the processed outer cellulosic wrapperwith the result that all the fluid passing into the napkin is subjectedto the influence of the deodorant.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sanitary napkin incorporating thepresent improvements and which is partially broken away to display itsinternal construction;

` Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a partial transverse sectional view of the napkin shown inFig. 2, greatly enlarged however to illustrate details of construction.

The sanitary napkin in its preferred form comprises an absorbent pad lof any suitable material, such as cotton fibers or sheeted or shreddedcellulose fibers which because of their highly absorbent nature furnishsubstantial fluid capacity for the napkin.

To avoid danger of the fluid striking through 'and soiling the clothing,there is provided a pluserve different functions in the completed pad.

For economy and convenience in manufacture, these plies of material areWrapped transversely around the core simultaneously by the use of highspeed automatic machinery and the method of wrapping is such that asubstantial degree of overlap exists at the under side of the pad,

3 i. e., the side which is adapted to be worn away from the body whenthe pad is in service.

The function and characteristics of the various plies of material 3, 4and 5 will now be described. The two inner layers or plies 3 consist ofsoft, tenuous, creped absorbent tissue and their chief function isto,conne the shreddedv celluY lose pulp fiber filler, vcharacteristic ofthe socalled uif type of napkin, to facilitate its handling in machineproduction and toconne and retain it when the napkin is in use. Whiletwo of such layers of tissue are shown, a greater or lesser number maybe used if desired andr indeed omitted entirely with a pad of the layertypecomposed of sheet material.

The next outer ply of material 4 is made of thin, non-absorbent orhighly repellent, soft, crepe tissue. Actually this layer or ply ofmaterial is applied in the form of two strips having a substantialoverlap at the bottom of the pad, as previously described and whichencase the pad at its side edges and along marginal portions at the top,leaving a longitudinal central zone E uncovered by the strips ,ll andwhich is defined by the edges thereof. Since strips d are moisturevrepellent innature they. serve to prevent strike-through at the sides orvlateral edges of the napkin as well as at the bottom where theyoverlap. In other words, at the bottom of thev pad tlieyserve the same.function as the two plies of material 2i underlying the core I, so thatadditional protection is provided for the user -in this region where the-danger of strike* through is most acute. The` central zone 6 givesaccess for the fluid to the absorbent pad I.

In accordance with the invention, the wrapper 5,whicl1` envelopes thepad and which lies adjacent` the outer surface of the highly repellentplies il, consists of soft, tenuous crepe tissue of a semi-repellentnature, preferably having the characteristics of the semi-repellentpaper described in the Stonehill Patent 2,312,501. This wrapper spans orcompletely covers thezone 6 defined by the edges,` ofthe underlyingstrips of highly repellent material 4 and serves to control thedispersion of the fluidas it strikes the napkin. It is highly desirablethat the fluidk coming in contact with the napkin pass through forabsorption bythe main pad i as quickly as possible, and with a minimumamount of lateral dispersion. Obviously, if this layer of material hadhighly absorbent characteristics the fluidV would disperse in alldirections and beyond the edges of the zone defined by the underlyinghighly repellent material 4. Obviously, if the fluid spreads in thelayer beyond the limits of the zone 6, the result would be the same asif the iiuid had struck through from the inside of the` napkin, theprevention of' which is the function of the highly repellent strips.This Ycooperation between the highly repellent layer i and thesemifrepellent layer 5 which serves to retard the lateral disper-v sionof the fluid is important since it'gives the best results from thestandpoint of protection. The out-er ply 5v also assists inproperlyvholding the strips Il of highly repellent material in po` sition on thepad during the manufacturing proc-V ess, and retains thestrips in placein the finished rad., i

'Increased freedom, from chai-lng isV obtained by encasing the Pd-in afilme-f Asoft cotton 'l except in the vicinity of the zone 6. The nlm ofcotton is overlapped at the bottom of the napkin and preferablyis'applied in the same man- 4 ner as the two strips of highly repellentcrepe paper 4.

The napkin is completely encased in a suitable covering 8 such as gauze,or other material, having the required strength and softness, and whichis extended beyond the ends of the padfor purposes -well known. Thegauze covering overlaps at'fthe bottom of the napkin and in theautomatic production of the napkins may be folded in placesimultaneously with the underlying film of soft cotton material l.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a deodorant materiall0 in the zone 6 and which is located substantially throughout theentire areathereof, so that all of the moisture or fluid passing intothe interior pad is subjected to its action'.v

Preferably the deodorant material ID is incorporated in the napkin inthe form of a powder locatedbetween the outer layer of semi-repellentcrepe paper 5 and the inner layers of absorbent` tissue 3 which lieadjacent the absorbent pad, and to insure that the deodorant will notshake out, the layers of tissue confining the same may beembossed orcrimped so as to create small individual pockets in which the deodorantis retained. Of course, any other suitable method of incorporating thedeodorant in a sanitary napkin may be employed, the essence of theinstant invention being the location of the deodorant,

within the zone 6 and the confinement of the fluid'to the zone as itenters the pad so that all of it will beacted upon bythe deodorant.

The instant invention issubject to many modiflcations and changesincluded within its spirit. It is to be understood, therefore, that theinven` tion is limited only by the prior art` and the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A dressing for medicinal purposes, particularly for catamenial use,comprising a fluid absorbent pad, a plurality of plies of cellulosicsheet material transversely encircling said pad, fluid'repellentcellulosic4 sheet material located between two of said plies, andlikewise transversely encircling said pad except, for a centrallylocated longitudinallyextending zone spaced inwardly from the lateraledges of the surface of the pad facing the body of the user when thedressing is in service and through which the fluid has access to thepad, a deodorant medium located between said two plies and within saidZone, and Vmeans for retaining the deodorant medium between said pliesand within said area, the outermost ply of cellulosic sheet materialbeing processed to retard the lateralr dispersion of the fluid wherebythe latter is substantially confined to the zone ofthe deodorantv as itpasses through tothe absorbent pad.

2. A dressing for medicinal purposes, particularly forl catamenial use,comprising; a fluid absorbent pad, a plurality of plies of cellulosicsheet material arranged externally with respect to said pad and in aposition suchv that ther fluid to beV absorbed passesl through saidplies of sheet -material before ventering the surface of the pad lyingnearest the body of the user when the4 Lressing is inservice, adeodorantzmedium located between two of said plies and extend-ingsubstan-` position throughoutzsaid area, theouter ply-at least of saidcellulosic sheet material being proces'sed to retard the lateraldispersion of the fluid whereby the fluid is substantially confined tothe rone of the deodorant as it passs through to the absorbent pad.

3. A dressing for medicinal purposes, particularly for catamenial use,comprising a fluid absorbent pad, a layer of cellulosic tissue-likesheet material processed to inhibit the lateral dispersion of fluidcoming in contact with it,

ylocated externally of the absorbent pad on the side thereof adapted tolie adjacent the body of the user when the dressing is in service andacting to restrict the iiuid passing through it to a given zone, adeodorant medium likewise located externally of the absorbent pad andbetween said pad and layer of cellulosic tissue-like sheet material, andmeans confining the deodorant medium in substantially even distributionthroughout the zone to which the entering fluid is restricted by thelayer of cellulosic tissue-like sheet material.

4. A dressing for medicinal purposes, partieularly for catamenial use,kcomprising a fluid absorbent pad, fluid repellant cellulosic sheetmaterial confining the lateral edges of said pad, a layer of cellulosictissue-like sheet material processed to inhibitv the lateral dispersionof the fluid coming in contact with it and located exter nally of theabsorbent pad on the side thereof adapted to lie adjacent the body ofthe user when the dressing is in service, said layer of cellulosictissue-like sheet material completely spanning a zone defined by theedges of the fluid repellant cellulosic sheet material and acting torestrict the fluid passing through it to said zone, a deodorant mediumlikewise located externally of the absorbent pad and between said padand layer of cellulosic tissue-like sheet material, and means acting toconne the deodorant medium in substantially even distribution throughoutthe area to which the entering fluid is restricted by said layer ofcellulosic tissue-like sheet material.

5. A dressing for medicinal purposes, particularly for catamenial use,comprising a fluid absorbent pad, fluid repellant cellulosic sheetmaterial confining the lateral edges of said pad and having marginalportions defining a centrally located longitudinally extending zonespaced inwardly from the lateral edges of the surface of the pad whichfaces the body of the user when the dressing is in service and throughwhich the entering fluid has access to the pad, a layer of cellulosictissue-like sheet material processed to inhibit the lateral dispersionof fluid coming in contact with it, overlying said zone and acting torestrict the iiuid passing through it to said zone, a deodorant mediumlocated externally of the absorbent Dad and between the pad and saidlayer of cellulosic tissue-like sheet material, and means acting toconfine the deodorant medium in substantially even distributionthroughout the area to which the entering iiuid is restricted by saidlayer of cellulosic tissue-like sheet material.

FREDERICK W. SCHREIBER.

REFERENCES CITED The :following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,005,298 OBrien et al June 18,1935 2,006,697 Lindsey July 2, 1935 2,024,976 Mathey et al Dec 17, 19352,312,501 Stonehill Mar. 2, 1943 1,950,957 Wilhelm Mar. 13, 19342,067,961 Williams Jan. 19, 1937 2,066,946 Reiman Jan. 5, 1937 2,121,604Lynch et al. June 21, 1938 2,144,632 Melton Jan, 24, 1939 1,950,286Barkow Mar. 6, 1934 2,295,016 Scribner Sept. 8, 1942

